This cake looks so pretty when it’s unmolded. It’s easy yet impressive and perfect for both dessert or morning/afternoon tea. The sponge has a lovely crumb, moist from the buttermilk with a nice density from the almond meal and the slight sour bite of the raspberries stops it from becoming overly sweet. When I saw the amount of time the cake needed to bake for (90 minutes) I was a little hesitant but I discovered something in the process of making this cake which probably everyone else on the planet has already figured out – don’t use the fan force setting on your oven for every situation. I tend to put my oven on the one setting, fan force intensive, which is fine for roasting but for more delicate items such as cakes it’s too harsh. Simple enough, I know, and why I just figured it out is beyond me. So I turned the dial to one of the other 12 settings available (!!) and used a top and bottom heat setting, plain old normal oven baking and the cook times were spot on. If you have a scale always weigh your items instead of using the cup measurements. Have all your ingredients at room temperature and at the point that you add the flour be careful to just mix until combined, over beating at this point results in a heavy cake. I also recommend you don’t use a springform tin as the juices from the berries are likely to escape and make a mess of your oven. This cake is lovely served with a dollop of whipped cream or creme fraiche.
Ingredients Adapted from Delicious Magazine
750g frozen raspberries, thawed on absorbent paper
385g (3¼ cups) caster sugar
190g unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
3 eggs
300g (2 cups) plain flour, sifted
1½ teaspoons baking powder, sifted
1½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda, sifted
60g (½ cup) almond meal
250 ml (1 cup) buttermilk
Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Layer the raspberries over the base of a lightly greased 24cm round tin (not spring form) lined with baking paper to form 2 layers. Sprinkle with 110g (½ cup) sugar and set aside. Place the butter, remaining sugar. lemon zest and vanilla seeds in an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until pale and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, almond meal and buttermilk and beat on low speed until just combined.
Spoon the mixture over the raspberries and smooth the top with a palette knife. Bake for 45 minutes. Cover loosely with foil and bake for a further 40-45 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool at room temperature for 2 hours or until just warm. Invert the cake onto a serving plate and carefully remove the tin to serve.
Mustard With Mutton 